If Barry Bonds and Mike Piazza lost Hall of Fame votes because of evidence or suspicions they juiced when breaking records, will Jeff Kent gain votes for his contributions to the current steroid testing policy?

The former Giants second baseman will be on the next Hall of Fame ballot, joining old buddy Bonds.

Perhaps more than any other ballplayer, Kent lobbied for testing when it wasn't trendy, when the union and much of its membership fought against it. In a clubhouse in which Greg Anderson once had free rein as a drug runner for Bonds and other Giants, Kent often stood at his locker and called for Major League Baseball and the union to iron out a legitimate steroids policy.

Over 17 seasons, Kent hit .290 with a .356 on-base percentage and 377 home runs, including a record 351 as a second baseman. He's the only second baseman with eight 100-RBI seasons, and he was the 2000 MVP and a five-time All-Star.

He also spoke out against steroids, which in retrospect seems historically significant.

Not only was a Kent quote referenced by George Mitchell to prove a point in the introduction of his 2007 report on steroids in baseball, but Commissioner Bud Selig used another quote from Kent in his 2005 letter to then-union chief Don Fehr, calling for a more stringent policy - including a 50-game suspension for first-time steroid offenders, 100 games for a second offense and a lifetime ban for a third strike.

In the letter, Selig also lobbied for an amphetamine ban and more random testing and eventually got his way, with an assist from Kent, whose comments used by Mitchell and Selig came in interviews with The Chronicle.